Let Me Run Away
by ThePurpleMoon
Summary: It’s a story about having some fun, and the romance that starts between Jules and Jess, and how they fall for each other despite everything they have to deal with first to realize it.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Let Me Run Away 

Rating: T. Well, eventually probably up to T, with some sexual content and language. This chapter is probably more like PG though.

Disclaimer: I don't actually own Bend It Like Beckham, unfortunately. So, I'm not even going to try to claim them.

Summary: It's a story about having some fun, and the romance that starts between Jules and Jess, and how they fall for each other despite everything they have to deal with first to realize it.

Feedback: I love feedback, and would greatly appreciate it.

Author's Note: Yes, yes. I will warn you now. This is going to be a Jules/Jess story. So, if that's not what you want to read; then please just simply don't read this. Other than that, I hope you enjoy it, and forgive me for some of my 'trying to sound British' parts while they talk. I did as well as I could with that. Also, it starts in the middle of the movie pretty much, with when they go to play a match in Germany. Most of the main storyline will stay intact as I continue on, but it will changed to have a Jess/Jules relationship in it.

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Jules sighed when she realized that on that very night she was going to be playing football, in Germany nonetheless. It just didn't seem the same though. She had played against teams before Jess came into the picture. Why couldn't she fathom the idea of playing without Jess now? Her thoughts were interrupted by a car honking. She turned to look out the window just in time to see Jess stepping out of a car, telling Joe her alibi. She stepped onto the bus, and Jules grinned involuntarily.

Jess stepped into the bus looking around for a place to sit. She was so glad that her sister was going to cover for her. Joe had pretended not to hear her alibi, but that was okay because he had let her get on the bus anyway. She noticed Jules, and that there happened to be an empty seat next to her. Jess smiled at her and hoped she got to be the lucky person to sit in that seat. "Is this seat taken?" Jess asked while tried her best to sound all proper and trying even harder not break into a smile while asking. She almost made it.

"Yeah, it's taken," Jules looked up at Jess seeing Jess' smile droop a bit. She hadn't been expecting that one. "By you," with that Jules reached up and tugged on Jess' arm. Jess ended up sprawled on the seat but smiling.

"Ah, good to know." Jess settled back into the seat normally now and the two girls talked about everything and nothing for quite a while. Then, the dark-haired girl yawned, but tried to cover it up. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before because she was trying to think of a way to get to go on this trip. There would be a way, and together she and her sister had found it. The blonde girl noticed her friends eyes begin to flutter shut.

"You're going to fall asleep on me, aren't you? I'm going to be sitting here talking to myself." Jules shook her head laughing as her friend tried to wake herself up a bit.

"No, no…I can stay awake." Jess finished, and yawned again. Ever the contagious yawn, it traveled and hit Jules as well. Within a minute, she was yawning too, and snuggling into her pillow against the window. After saying how she could fall asleep, of course, Jess was pretty much out of it. She lay against the bus seat as she fell asleep.

A while later, Jules woke up to Joe announcing that they were almost there. She opened one eye slowly and scanned around the bus as best as she could. She was pressed into her pillow, with a soft weight lying on her shoulder. She glanced to her right only to realize it was Jess' head there. Apparently, she made a pretty nice pillow because when she moved a bit, Jess only snuggled in a bit more. "Jess, we're almost there." Jules smirked at her friend who woke up with a start then, who in doing so almost hit her head into the other girl's. "Nice sleep, Jess?" Jules smirked once more after moving her head away from the line of danger.

Jess blushed a bit, and tried to smooth down her wavy hair. "I didn't sleep much last night. Pretty caught up on it now though. I mean, I even found a pillow." In the middle of the pillow remark, Jess stopped and glanced at the blonde's shoulder. Oops. She quickly diverted her attention to Joe as the bus stopped.

All of the girls stood up, giddy to get off of the bus. "We're here." Joe called to the back of the bus, hoping to wake anyone who was still sleeping. "We'll drop our stuff off here at the hotel, but in twenty minutes we have to be ready to go. Okay? So, drop off your stuff, then get ready because we have a game to win tonight!" All of the girls cheered and Jules suspiciously looked at Jess who was dodging her line of vision now, as she tried to get off the bus quickly. A quick glance down to her shoulder confirmed her suspicions.

"Jess! You drooled on my shoulder!" Jules pointed at the spot as Jess hopped off the bus. "Hey!" Jules maneuvered herself off of the bus, as Jess tried to keep a safe distance from her friend. Jules started running towards Jess jokingly, as Jess started running towards the hotel. "It won't save you! We're in the same room."

Jess slowed for a moment, to look back over her shoulder at the approaching blonde. "You were a good pillow if it counts for anything." Both girls were giggling as the rest of the team looked on laughing.

"Girls, save the energy for the game. The game, girls." Joe was pleading with the girls, but it wasn't helping. They were still giggling and running around. He rolled his eyes and turned to Mel. "Any way to stop them?"

"You know them as well as I do, Joe. So, you know that's a no." Mel shrugged her shoulders and watched as the two best friends got into the hotel.

They all had to stop to get their keys for the room, but even then Jess was giggling as she tried to stay away from a leering Jules. They were several feet away from each other as the manager of the hotel explained the rules of the hotel to them. Jules pointed to her shirt and mouthed, "I'm going to get you for this."

Jess looked at her friend confused. "What?" She mouthed back.

"I'm going to get you for this." Jules whispered, but Jess still couldn't make out the words. As soon as the rules were explained, and the keys were handed out. Jess started to walk quickly towards their hotel room on the second floor. She couldn't run, after all, she was sure that was one of the rules that she hadn't been listening to.

Both girls walked, rather quickly, to their room. "Truce!" Jess called as the door flung open, but Jules simply tackled her onto the bed. In fact, since the room only had to hold two girls. There was only one bed in the room.

"I think not! I mean, I'm winning, and now you want truce? No. Not this time." Jules stuck out her tongue at the squirming Jess. "If you give me the room key, then it'll be a truce."

"You'll lose it!" Jess exclaimed as Jules raised an eyebrow at her friend before reaching for the key herself. "No!" Jess shrieked giggling, as she tried to protect the key. The two girls ended up scrambling around for a bit trying to get the key before Jules finally held Jess down playfully and grabbed the key.

"Mine," the blonde pronounced triumphantly, as the darker-haired girl still squirmed in her grasp, trying to get it. Jules was hovering over the other girl, with a leg on either side of her waist. Mel walked by their door on the way to her own room and chuckled.

"You know, you two should really shut the door sometimes." She laughed and shook her head as she shut the door leaving the two girls frozen in place for a moment. Just what was she getting at?


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Let Me Run Away 

Rating: T. Well, eventually probably up to T, with some sexual content and language. This chapter is probably more like PG though.

Disclaimer: I don't actually own anything to do with Bend It Like Beckham, unfortunately. So, I'm not even going to try to claim them.

Summary: It's a story about having some fun, and the romance that starts between Jules and Jess, and how they fall for each other despite everything they have to deal with first to realize it.

Feedback: I love feedback, and would greatly appreciate it. Thanks to everyone who sent some for the first chapter!

Author's Note: I'm sorry that an update has taken me a little while to get up, but it's been a busy week or so. And yes, I have added thoughts into the characters heads whereas in the movie they may have not actually have been thinking this. Enjoy :)

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The team wandered back to the hotel after the saddening defeat. Jess had already called her parents, so she was set to go for the time-being. "What are you wearing tonight?" Jules called to Jess as she brushed her teeth in the bathroom.

"Wearing? To go to sleep in?" Jess looked confused as Jules wandered out into the other room with her toothbrush still dangling from her mouth.

She still managed to talk fairly well for having a toothbrush in her mouth. "We're going out clubbing."

"What? No one told me we go clubbing! I don't have anything to wear." Jess pouted as she poked at her suitcase that was seated on the bed next to her. Jules looked thoughtful for a moment before calling one of the other rooms.

Soon enough, all of the girls on the team were ready to go. They walked outside and Joe turned to make sure everyone was there.

He stopped for a moment as his eyes swept over Jess, obviously impressed. He quickly bit his lip before he could say anything and turned around. "Let's go then." The girls all giggled and talked until they reached the club. It was pretty packed. Apparently, they weren't the only ones who were ready for a fun night out.

Everyone from the team was out on the dance floor. They were either dancing with some guys from the area or with each other, depending on which girl you were looking at. Jess and Jules stood near Mel and a few other girls as they all danced. After a moment, Jess and Jules met each other's eyes and smiled. The blonde tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and glanced at the other girl. She had the odd rush of want to dance with the other girl. Instead, she turned abruptly around and walked towards Joe, who was sitting alone at a table.

"Joe, dance with me." Jules pleaded as both she and Jess settled near him. He gave her a friendly look, but looked eagerly over at Jess as well.

"Yeah, come on, Joe." Jules turned her head to see Jess encouraging him too. "I'll even go dance with you if you get up." That was apparently the incentive he needed because he rolled his eyes at the two of them before standing up.

"I know I'll never get rid of you two if I keep sitting where I am at the moment." He declared as he led the two girls back out onto the dance floor where they began dancing together once more. Joe danced with Jules first, twirling her a bit as they danced. Then, he turned towards Jess and started to dance with her as well. Mel and a few of the other girls all looked around before walking over and each taking their turn of dancing with their coach. Before they knew it, Joe was dancing with Mel, and Jules and Jess were left dancing by themselves once more.

The two girls looked shyly at each other for a moment, arms raised in a dancing position as they stood still, and then suddenly they started moving again. They were dancing together again. They moved in a little closer and the song still had a fast beat flowing into their ears, so their hands, their feet, their hips all match the music perfectly. Both girls were flowing to the music dancing as friends, not allowing anything else to register into their minds. They had gone out there to dance with Joe, but he left. That's all. If they were to look around they'd notice other girls dancing with their friends as well, but then again, they weren't looking around.

The two girls shared a smile for a moment before a feeling that someone could not describe as any other feeling than "want" came apparent in the brunette's heart. Before she would let it register in her mind, she backed up foot or so. Whoa. Okay, that was not supposed to leave her feeling dizzy. She was dancing with a friend, Jules, so she had no reason to feel anything else. A quick glance around the room would have easily told her why. It was hot and very smoky in there. Sure, the day that she and Jules had gone to get her shoes, they had gone into a pub to get a drink, and it was smoky in there. However, if you combined it with the heat, that could get to anyone. She pointed towards the door. "I have to get some air," she gasped and then half-walked, half-fell out into the fresh air of the balcony.

Joe and Jules both watched her leave. Jules bit her lip as she tried to decide what to do, but Joe took it as an excuse to leave the other girls and follow his football player onto the balcony. Jess was leaning on the railing near the side and breathing in deeply. The smoke was finally clearing from her mind, and her vision wasn't so hazy anymore. A few other couples on the balcony stared at her awkwardly as she breathed in deeply again. Suddenly, Joe was at her side. "You okay?" He questioned as he placed a worried hand on her arm.

"It was just too smoky in there." Jess complained as she glanced around before adding, "And hot."

Joe nodded. "It can be rather bothersome if you not used to it." He shrugged, and Jess glanced at him a moment more. "Not that I'm used to it or anything," he defended. She smiled easily at him, and he allowed himself a smile back. He wasn't suppose to feel this relaxed with one of his football players. There was a reason why he was the coach, to, well, coach them about the game, not about romance. Sure, he was friends with a few of the other players, but he had never breached the gap between friends and romance with any of them before. However, the hazy smoke was still wandering out of the door of the club, and the heat was still building.

Perhaps, if it was just a kiss between the two, then he would understand what he felt for her. Perhaps if there was a kiss between the two of them, she would understand what she felt for him, for Jules.

Suddenly, Jess was looking expectantly up at him, and Joe was leaning in closer. Jules chose this moment to check on her friend and on her coach. Her friends sure had been out there a while. She found them with their eyes shut, and his lips pressed themselves against her cheek, testing out their experiment. Jules eyes opened wide in shock. Jess and Joe were kissing. With the darkness of the night surrounding them, and the heat of the club, she wasn't looking too closely at how close their lips were. She simply saw the figures bend together, and she knew that their lips must have met. "You bitch," the blonde snarled as the figure suddenly became two humans again. She wasn't sure whether she was mad that she wasn't the one kissing Joe, or if it was because she wasn't the one kissing Jess. And that, made it all that much worse.

Jules got a ride back to the hotel in a cab that she made certain that she did not share with neither Jess nor Joe. In fact, she avoided them both as she dashed back up to her hotel room as well. Joe and Jess avoided talking about what had just happened, and tried to put it past them for the moment. Jess had just been trying to convince herself that Jules would be over the-almost-kiss by the time she got to the hotel room, when she realized that no such thing was going to happen. She opened the door to find a scornful Jules already in the bed. "Jules?" No reply. "Jules? Listen. I'm sorry I didn't know that you fancied Joe." A snort was the reply this time. "Fine. Don't talk to me, but you have to listen." Just then, Jules reached out and grabbed her cd player, and slipped on her headphones. Jess sighed, and then climbed into the other side of the bed. Her best friend was in love with the guy that she had almost kissed that night, and she wasn't sure how to fix it.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Let Me Run Away 

Rating: T. Well, eventually probably up to T, with some sexual content and language. This chapter is probably more like PG though.

Disclaimer: I don't actually own anything to do with Bend It Like Beckham, unfortunately. So, I'm not even going to try to claim them.

Summary: It's a story about having some fun, and the romance that starts between Jules and Jess, and how they fall for each other despite everything they have to deal with first to realize it.

Feedback: Thanks to everyone who sends feedback. I appreciate it, and it gives me incentive to write more.

Author's Note: As I said before, I'm not British. I've never gone to England either (at least until this summer) so I apologize if something sounds completely off. (Actually, I'm trying to edit some of this story, at least grammatically, so now I've officially been to England...though, I'm not promising any awesome British slang to come spilling out of me now.) Hopefully, it comes together well enough. Sorry that it took me a little while to update, but I'm working on getting these updates up as soon as I can. Anyway, enjoy.

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Jess awoke to find that Jules was already up and packing her bags. "We have to leave soon." Jess sighed, and stretched before climbing out of bed as well.

"Look, Jules," she began before being interrupted by Jules herself.

"I'm hungry. I'm going to go grab some breakfast, k?" And like that, Jules was off down the hallway. Jess would have followed if it wasn't for her still wearing her pajamas, and she still had to pack all of her stuff. Half an hour later, Jess was properly packed and freshly showered. However, Jules still hadn't walked back into their room yet.

Faint laughter was heard down the hall, and soon Jules and Mel appeared in the room. So, that's what Jules was doing! She was going to avoid Jess, so that they never had to discuss Joe. Jess resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Hey Jess," Mel greeted while Jules silently got her bags.

Jess gathered her stuff as well, and headed down to the bus with them. The whole way to the airport, everyone was talking to each other. Well, except for the one girl who had fallen back asleep, and Jess and Jules who didn't seem very talkative either.

When the team reached the plane, the girls all settled into their original seats, next to their best friends. Jess, who had gotten on last, found her previous seat to be taken by Mel. Mel's original seat had been next to Joe, because she had been discussing team plans with him. Jules looked up to see the hurt in Jess's face. "I thought you might like sitting there better." Both girls bit their lip from saying what they really felt, and stuck to what they believed they were supposed to be feeling. It was 'normal' if they were to have a crush on their coach, but having a crush on another player...That would surely be balderdash.

"Hey Joe," Jess settled into her new seat, and the awkwardness still hung in the air with them too. Luckily, they were able to realize quickly that neither was going to bring up the topic of last night, not right there in front of the team. So, soon Jess was fast asleep. She didn't wake up to find anyone's head on her shoulder this time.

"Jess, Jess, wake up. We're here." Jess opened one eye sleepily and looked around. Joe was looking at her, waiting for her to get out of her seat, so that they could get off of the plane. The rest of the team was getting up too. Mel was awake and moving around happily, but Jules still looked a bit off. For a moment, Jess wondered if Jules was sleeping as badly as Jess had been.

They all scrambled off the plane, and again Jess ended up sitting alone, without Jules. In fact, Jules scrambled off the bus just as quickly, before Jess had a single moment to talk to the blonde. The brunette sighed heavily as she stepped off the bus, but quickly sobered up when she noticed her family there waiting for her.

Jess laid on her bed later looking at her poster of Beckham. Some help he was. Everything was screwed up royally. She wasn't supposed to go play football anymore, things between Joe and her were awkward, and Jules wasn't talking to her. If Jules had been with her, perhaps together they could have thought of a way around Jess being off of the team. If Jess was back on the team, she'd have a chance to talk to Joe, and make things normal again. Every girl needs her best friend, and for the first time ever, her best friend in question wasn't Tony.

Jess dashed over as soon as she could. Actually, soon was not as soon as some would think. It had been three days at home, learning to cook, and helping around the house, being a good Indian girl. Three days without Jules and without football. Three days since she had decided that Beckham wasn't helping her, and she took him off of her wall.

Jules had been miserable since she had come home from Germany. They had lost, but she would have gotten over that soon enough. Her best friend was kissing the guy that she had liked for a while. Not to mention that that guy was their football coach, very off-limits football coach. What made her feel even more miserable, was that she wasn't sure that not having Joe was the thing that was making her sad. She had gone to football practice, sure, but even there, she seemed to be a bit off in her own world where she wasn't letting anyone in, unless the person happened to be the bed that she seemed to be sleeping in all of the time now, even during the day. She never had much energy; Jules had become one to lie about and sulk in bed, then sleep some. Even her mum had noticed.

That's why when Jess arrived at the door, Mrs. Paxton greeted her very cheerily. Jess was a good Indian girl, and secretly the blonde hoped that her daughter's mate would perk her daughter right up. Immediately, Jess was allowed to go up to see Jules. "I'll bring you two up some tea in a little bit." Mrs. Paxton said graciously, but she received no answer. "Right then," and then off to the kitchen she went.

Jess wasn't really listening, she was just staring at the door that she knew led to Jules. It was three long days without her best friend. She hesitantly knocked on the door then walked in the room. "Mum, I told you I'm not hungry." Jules didn't even bother to roll over to look at the door. The only person who had been venturing into her room lately had been her mother when she was making her eat some food or drink something. Her dad tried to on the first day, but after that he let his daughter be, and he simply assumed that it was girl stuff that would be worked out all on its own.

"Hi." Jess said simply, enough to let Jules know that it was definitely not her mum in her room.

Jules opened her eyes wide and sat up immediately looking towards the girl that just walked into her room. "What are you doing here?" Simple enough question, but there were so many different ways that Jess could answer that.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Let Me Run Away 

Rating: T. Well, at times it may be T anyway. This chapter is more PG-ish. Slight language.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything involving Bend it Like Beckham, unfortunately. They belong to other lovely folks.

Summary: It's a story about having some fun, and the romance that starts between Jules and Jess, and how they fall for each other despite everything they have to deal with first to realize it.

Feedback: I love feedback, and would greatly appreciate it.

Author's Note: I've been trying to update this as frequently as possible. However, I hardly ever have anyone actually review this story. I had two people review since the last time I posted a new chapter, and yet there are 133 hits at the moment on that chapter alone. Something doesn't match up. So, as sorry as I am to say this, because I enjoy writing this story and wish to continue writing it until it's complete; if I don't start to get reviews, then I'm not sure how much longer I will update this story. I'm not trying to be rude, but if you read a story, and you like it…It doesn't take very long to review, so please do so. (And if you don't like a story, well, why would you still be reading it?) Thank you, and thank you to those of you who do actually review this story. I really appreciate it. Enjoy.

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Jess bit at her lower lip and switched her weight from one leg to the other hoping that this action would somehow make her think of a good answer. Jess couldn't exactly tell Jules that she was there because, well, she really wasn't completely sure why she was there herself. Somehow, that didn't seem like a very decent answer, nor did that she simply missed her. It seemed almost inappropriate to just say that she was in the neighborhood, because it was obviously more than that. So, she simply sighed.

Jules didn't seem to take that as a real answer because she simply raised an eyebrow at the other girl in waiting. "I," Jess began, "was in the neighborhood." Meanwhile, she shut her eyes momentarily cursing her mind. Hell, she had just promised herself not to use that line.

Jules finally broke into a bit of a smile, but quickly tried to hide it. "You were in the neighborhood? For what?"

Jess looked at her feet, then at Jules, who still wasn't looking at her. "You." She realized how that sounded, and tried to take it back, but her mouth just seemed to continue on without her because it knew that she had to explain even if her mind didn't want to.

"Jules," Jess began, for she had decided that it was always good to try to get the blonde's attention before beginning what could lead to a long conversation. "We have to talk…about what happened in Germany. We didn't kiss or anything. Well, he kissed my cheek, like you would a mate or something though! I swear I didn't know you fancied him or anything. I don't like him like that, honestly." Jess took a deep breath. Wow, that was hard to try to have said all in one breath. That was hard to have said anyway.

"We're friends. We weren't kissing each other on the balcony outside of the club." Out of all of the things that she could pick out of that conversation, that's the part that Jules decided to start with. She's not really sure why, but it made her feel jealous that she wasn't the one with Jess. Wait, she meant, that she wasn't the one with Joe. At least, that's who it's suppose to be according to most people. A girl and a guy. A guy and a girl. The common couple. Then again, she never really was most people, and certainly not common. She was one of a kind.

Jess stood silently for a moment bewildered at Jules' reaction. Jules must really be in love with Joe to react that oddly. "I didn't know you loved him." Short and simple. Jess wasn't sure how far she really wanted to delve into this subject because she was afraid of what she would say. She really wasn't sure what she would say actually, and that's what scared her.

"I don't fancy Joe." Jules' mother chose that particular moment to begin up the stairs with the tea. Her daughter…was fighting about a boy? Wait. She was fighting about a boy to another girl, and at this point she wasn't sure if it was because her daughter was in love with the guy, or with the girl. At first, she had automatically assumed that both girls loved the boy.

"What? But, the way you reacted, you looked heartbroken…you…you…" Jess opened her mouth to talk, but instead she ended up just staring at the blonde. She had given Jules the opportunity to jump in and share her feelings for Joe, but she hadn't. Instead, she was sitting on her bed looking at Jess as if she was incredibly dense. "Well, I do fancy someone." The blonde took a deep breath then looked back up at Jess, finally meeting her eyes. "It's, well, actually someone really important to me." Jules closed her eyes for a moment, and thought this through. She wasn't even sure what she was admitting to, or what she was trying to explain.

Jess allows her face to light up in happiness for the other girl. "That's great," she replied, but instantly a dread settled over the dark-haired girl, and she ended up with a lump in her throat that seemed to not want to allow her to talk. She should be happy that her friend fancied someone. Jules, for her part, looked immediately bewildered and, perhaps even saddened, by her friend's reaction.

Mrs. Paxton just couldn't wait any longer, and instantly burst into the room with the tea. She felt bad for eavesdropping. "So, Jules, honey, I just couldn't help but hear a bit of that…" She began, and instantly both girls moved their eyes from the other towards her. "I really didn't mean to overhear," she carefully side-stepped around using the word 'eavesdrop' in this conversation, "but, you fancy someone?"

Jules groaned. "Mom, how long have you been standing there exactly?" She was now really glad that she hadn't tried to explain anything to Jess.

"Oh, just a few moments, really, Jules. Do you think I would purposely listen in on you talking to one of your mates?" Jules looked prepared to answer, but her mom intercepted it. "That's a rhetorical question, so you know. Just, who is it? Is it Jason? Because, I saw him with this red-haired girl again last night…different girl than before even. If it's him…really honey, why didn't you just date him before now?"

"Mom!" Jules practically shrieked. She didn't care about Jason. She didn't care who Jason was shagging. The one person she cared about was standing in that room listening to her mother talk about the latest guy that her mom was trying to hook her up with. Something was wrong with this picture. "I told you. I don't give a…" and a strong look from her mother caused her to change her words. "I don't care who Jason is shagging. He can shag whoever he damn-well pleases." Jules began to get irritated because she really just needed to talk to Jess at this point. Why was it becoming so difficult to have time alone with someone when it was most needed?

"If you would just talk to him some more," Mrs. Paxton began before shaking her head at her daughter's expression. Perhaps she just wasn't ready to talk about this, she decided, or else…Well, no need to consider 'what else' quite yet. Her daughter was not into girls in any sense of the word 'into'. "Fine, you go ahead and have your talk with your friend…I'll just be downstairs if you need me though." Jules listened for the footsteps of her mother walking down the stairs before focusing back on Jess.

"I'm sorry," Jules immediately began.

"It's not your fault that she's…overly anxious about your life. She's as curious as I am." Jess replied as she shrugged.

"You're curious?" Jules looked up at the dark eyes before her. She could just tell her that she was in love with her. The worst that could happen was that Jess didn't feel the same way.

Jess nodded and chuckled nervously. "Of course," she replied before pausing and continuing, "I'm curious to see who my best friend likes." Then, she looked away from the beautiful eyes that were still staring at her from the bed. She was Indian. She wasn't supposed to be feeling like this. "Jules, I have to go," and with that, Jess flew down the stairs past an over-eager mother and a doting father as a certain blonde girl sat on her bed looking at the space from where her best friend had just fled. It took the blonde a few moments to rise from her stupor, and then she was immediately down the stairs after Jess who was already out of sight. She had to find her.

"Perhaps her friend likes Jason too?" Her mother asked ever so quietly to her husband. He reached his arm lovingly around his wife as their daughter took off in search of, well, something. Though, perhaps it was only for one of those runs that she always seemed to take daily. They tried to convince themselves of that, but somehow, it just didn't quite click into the right place.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Let Me Run Away 

Rating: This chapter is probably PG-ish. Slight language.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to the lovely people that are involved officially with Bend it Like Beckham.

Summary: It's a story about having some fun, and the romance that starts between Jules and Jess, and how they fall for each other despite everything they have to deal with first to realize it.

Feedback/Author's Note: Here's the next section of this story. My apologies if my British terminology is a bit off...I don't live there, I just have to borrow a few phrases from the movie to use. Thank you to those of you do send feedback…I do appreciate it, and it does give me incentive to update. Enjoy )

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Jess was suddenly thankful for all of those laps that Joe always had them running in practice. Being able to run just a little bit faster, run just a little bit faster before getting tired…That was all that mattered right now. Before she knew it, her legs had carried her to the park. She made the mistake of slowing her pace, and that's when she faltered. That's when the tears came.

Jess had been huddled together on a bench, just out of the eyesight of the neighborhood guys that were still busy playing football as usual, for about five minutes. Some things don't change. This time, instead of playing against them, Jess was hiding from them and trying to sort through feelings. Some things do change. "Jess?" She heard the familiar voice and knew that she couldn't hide from it. Tony must have been on his way either from or towards the current game; either way that didn't matter now. Jess was his best friend. "What's wrong?"

Jess looked up at him with the tears still running down her voice. She made a sincere attempt to remove them with her sleeve, but it was to no avail. The brunette considered lying, but he was Tony, and she had to start talking sometime. "I'm in love," was her blunt reply.

Tony tilted his head the side confused. "When did that become a bad thing? Is it that coach of yours? Joe? I mean, I know he's English and all, but…"

"He's Irish." Jess answered mechanically as it had become a seemingly regular phrase for her to have to use.

"Yeah, well, I suppose it's all the same to some. Is that who it is though? Is that all that's wrong?" Tony looked at his friend skeptically. Sure, it would be hard for her family to understand…but it most likely wasn't worth crying about in a park, if that was all. Jess shook her head, and Tony frowned. "So, what's wrong then?"

"I don't think that she loves me back. At least, not in the way." It wasn't Joe. She said it. She wasn't in love with Joe. There was another attempt to swipe away the tears on her face. He doesn't seem to register quite yet that Jess had just referred to the person that she loved as, well, a 'she.' A girl. It was her turn to look at him curiously. "Don't you care that it's a girl? You did hear that part right?"

He chuckled sadly, but stopped when he saw the hurt flash across her face as she considered the possibility that he was laughing at her. His chuckle turned into a sad smile. "I'm not laughing at you, Jess. You've been my best mate for ages. You know me better than that." She sighed and allowed herself to be pulled into his warmth as he put his arms around her, comforting her.

"It's not fair. It's so easy for you." Jess complained mildly while still resting her head against him, basking in his warmth.

His eyes, although she couldn't see them, got even sadder for a moment. "It's not so easy for me either, you know."

"All you have to do is find an Indian girl though. That's not so bad." Jess continued, trying to reason with him. There was no answer at first.

After a moment of silence he continued, "I really like Beckham, Jess."

This confused the girl, and she blinked hard a few times trying to clear her mind. "So do I, Tony. I mean, Beckham's the best. I really don't get how you're relating all of this…"

"No, Jess," Tony gently corrected. "I mean, I really like Beckham."

This caused the brunette to lift her head off of his chest. "You mean…" He nodded. "Wow. But, you're Indian." He smiled. In the midst of all of this…he smiled? Jess must have looked confused because the next thing he did was explain himself.

"Aren't you being a bit of a hypocrite there? I mean, you're Indian too, Jess." Her eyes looked tear-laden once more and her head drooped.

"I know. That's part of it too…" She trailed off as she let herself be immersed into a hug by Tony again.

"Believe me, Jess. I understand…You won't tell anyone right?" He suddenly felt paranoid.

She snorted. "Yeah, I wonder what they'd do if they knew…" She gestured wildly with her hand towards the scattered young guys still naively playing football not noticing the two on the bench.

"You won't tell them will you?"

"Of course not. You know me better than that. Besides, I have to trust you not to tell anyone either." She shrugged hopelessly, and he laughed softly.

"Funny how that works, aye?" He shook his head smiling slightly as he wrapped his other arm around her too. She sighed heavily.

"You know, I wasn't going to anyone anyway." The feeling of being best friends crept back into their conversation as she explained herself.

Tony chuckled lightly. "I know. Me either."

"I know," Jess answered simply. "You know, my sister thinks you've been mad on me for ages," she laughed.

"I am. I just don't want to marry you." He answered as sweetly as a best friend can. It made her smile. "So…who is she?" Tony continued grinning to a Jess who now blushed and grinned as well.

"Is it that hard to guess?" She mumbled embarrassed as she pressed her face against Tony's chest. Suddenly, she felt as if it was painfully obvious to everyone who walked by that she was in love with her best friend. Wow, she had never admitted that even in her head before. Sure, her mind had been swirling around that answer for days, but now…It was out in the open. Well, out in her mind anyway. Tony was trying to get her to say it out in the open anyway. As open as telling your best mate as you sit on a park bench can be anyway, especially after he tells you that he fancies Beckham.

"Well, no, but it might be easier if you actually say it." He reassured her softly, and this clicked in her head some more. Maybe that's what she needed.

"Jules." She murmured softly, answering his question.

"Jules," Tony replied.

"Yes, that's what I just said." She lifted her head off of his chest again. Why was he so bloody confused? Who the hell else would it be? It's not like she hung out with that many girls that it could possibly be. There was one simple answer. Jules. It all came back to Jules in the end.

"No, I mean. Jules." Suddenly, Jess noticed that Tony wasn't looking at her anymore. He was looking over her shoulder. Jess twisted her head to her right to see what had caught his attention.

"Jules," she breathed out suddenly. Sure enough, standing about ten feet away was a girl. Blonde hair, still in the same clothes as earlier, slightly sweaty from running without a break, still beautiful…Yes, yes. It was definitely Jules.

Jules bit at her lip for a moment, her eyes watering. "Tony, huh?" She asked backing up slowly. Jess shook her head, but Jules was still backing up. "You could have just told me, Jess. You should have just told me." She wiped at the tear that was threatening to trickle down her check. Suddenly irritated at it.

Before Jess could regain her composure to stand up, Jules was already off and running, the opposite way. Jess was trying to put everything together in her mind. She didn't understand why Jules was upset, but she had to know somehow. She just had to because somehow things had to be made right. Jess looked down momentarily at Tony who nodded towards the girl that was already running away. "You're still standing here looking at me, why? Go talk to that girl." She smiled briefly, then took off running instead of answering. Or rather, that was her answer.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Let Me Run Away

Rating: T. There's some language and perhaps some mild sexual content in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't Bend it Like Beckham. So, I can't claim anyone, unfortunately…(If I did...I wouldn't have to write femslash for it.)

Summary: It's a story about having some fun, and the romance that starts between Jules and Jess, and how they fall for each other despite everything they have to deal with first to realize it.

Feedback: Thank you to everyone who sends feedback, I really appreciate it. I'd love some feedback on the final chapter.

Author's Note: Gasp. It's the last chapter. I didn't even realize it was going to be the last chapter until I started writing it. I considered breaking this into two parts because it was so long…but really, there was no decent place to break the chapter in half. So, you get it in whole. At least since it's the last chapter, it's also the longest chapter. Enjoy.

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Jules felt the cement below her feet. It let off a satisfying thump each time one of her feet would land against it. Thump. If she concentrated on it enough, perhaps she could get her mind off of Jess. Tony and Jess. Jess and Tony. No, either way it didn't make sense. Jess and Jules sounded so much better together. She had always thought that Tony had seemed a little…non-heterosexual. Apparently, her gaydar was wrong at the worst times. She breathed in again to try to keep herself from crying. It didn't work, so instead she paused to wipe away a few more tears. Then, she was back to running.

Her mother would just love this. Her daughter in love with another girl. Sure, there had been the moment in time where she fancied Joe. So, she convinced herself that it was the opposite sex that she liked. She went out with a few of the guys that her mother wanted to set her up with. All of them were prats, yet she put up with it. She realized why now. It was because if she focused on Joe just a little bit more, pretended that the guys weren't so stupid and obnoxious that she was set up with; it wouldn't be true. She wouldn't be a lesbian. Jules wouldn't be falling in love with a girl that she met in a park. She wouldn't have first met the girl after watching her play football for hours against a few guys. While all the other girls that were onlookers to the game checked out the guys' abs; she was busy staring at Jess. In fact, she had been afraid that at some point, someone would notice. No one did. Well, her mother did, but she was paranoid about everything. You couldn't use her as a judge for anything that was logically. Though, Jules wasn't entirely sure if falling in love with her best friend would be considered logical anyway. Probably not.

"Jules," the blonde shook her head. Now she was hearing things. Great. Hearing Jess' voice in her head was just what she wanted. Not. "Jules, will you stop for a second?" Thump. Thump. Thump. Aha! If she concentrated on the sound of her feet against the cement, then the voice went away. "Jules, we're not in bloody football practice. You can slow down!" Or not. "Jules!" She turned her head slightly to she that Jess was running after her. Damn. All of those practices and runs in the park really had paid off for Jess. She was getting faster. Jules sped up. She didn't want to her Jess' love story about her and Tony. The blonde had seen enough when she noticed the two of them cuddled together on the bench.

Jess had taken off after Jules the moment she had the chance. She could make out the outline of her best friend against the shadows. The sun was beginning to set, and soon they would be running in the moonlight. Well, this was provided both girls could keep running that long. If Jess had her way, she'd catch up to Jules any second now. She just wanted to talk things over with the girl. The brunette had tried to call out to her, but the blonde hadn't heard her. After a few more tries, it was blatantly obvious that the blonde had heard her, but was ignoring her. That settles that. Jess was just going to have to catch up to Jules. Wait, was Jules speeding up? Jess was very glad for all of their runs through the park suddenly. It was because of this that she was able to maintain her speed. Then, a moment later, she thought of the fact that Jules and Jess needed to talk. Jess has a burst of speed.

The girls had run the distance of the park several times, but had stayed in the park paths because it was easier than if they started running down sidewalks in town. There they would get looks from random people for the unusual style of running they had. They ran together, but one girl was always chasing the other. Perhaps others would perceive it as some game to keep the other always running just a little bit faster, but in truth, it wasn't a game. It was love. So, they stayed in the park. Jules took a wild turn and went running through the grass in the park. The sun had been setting when Jules first saw Tony and Jess together, now things were bathed in the moonlight. Her feet no longer thumping on the ground. Instead, it sounded more like she was telling someone to be quiet. Shh. Shh. It was almost as though she was shuffling her feet. The sound itself was much more muffled than on the cement. It wasn't quite as soothing, and it threw her off her pattern for the first time.

Then, Jess was just a breath behind Jules. "Jules, stop!" She didn't. "Come on. Say something to me."

Jules' eyes flashed in the moonlight. "Race me," and then she was a few feet ahead again of Jess. They'd probably been running for the past half of an hour, and both girls were tired but it was pure adrenaline that kept them going. That and both were afraid what would happen if she stopped. Jess did the only thing she could; she raced Jules. They were still running through the grass, but now no one was there playing football. No one was there walking their dog or playing with their kids. It was just two girls racing through it, and the occasional person that would give them an odd look. It's not like they noticed.

After a minute or so, Jess surged next to Jules. "Don't make me stop you myself." Jules shifted her eyes over at Jess, and she pondered stopping for a moment. No, she couldn't fathom having to hear Jess recite her love for Tony to her in an effort to make her suddenly understand. No.

"No," Jules whispered suddenly, and Jess nodded. She had assumed as much. Jules wasn't going to stop running away, but Jess wasn't prepared to stop running towards her either. She did the only thing she could. She tackled Jules. Yes, tackled. Not the kind of tackle that involves stealing the football away from Jules; there was no football. The kind of tackle that they have in American football. The one where guys lunge at each other for a ball, and then carry towards the other end of the field. Only, there was no ball of any sort; there was just them.

Then, both girls were on the ground. Jules was sprawled out on the soft grass that didn't thump when she ran on it. She silently cursed it. Jess was sprawled on top of Jules sort-of lopsidedly. She corrected herself so that her hands were planted on the ground on either side of Jules' face. The brunette was too tired to correct her position any more than that. Though, she knew how it looked if anyone would happen to walk by. That wasn't important at the moment. Jules looked up at Jess confused and tired. Was she just tackled? Jess saw the confusion in Jules' eyes. "You wouldn't stop running." More confusion. "It was the only way I could think of getting you to stop running." Jules suddenly wondered if Jess wasn't moving off of her body for a reason. Did Jess want the same thing she did?

"I just…I needed to talk to you, you know? Of course you know. Or maybe you don't know. Is that why you didn't stop running?" Jess rambled on, not giving Jules a moment to talk had she even tried to. She didn't try to, but that was because it seemed perhaps faster to just let Jess ramble on until she hit her point. The reason she had been chasing Jules for the past half an hour. "What you saw in the park…Tony and me, we're not together. Well, we were together, but not that kind of together. We're just friends. Mates. You know? As for Joe…I meant what I said in your room. I don't fancy him like that. We really never did kiss properly. I mean, not that he's not cute or anything. He's just not my type." Jules began to wonder if she was Jess' type. "I hadn't meant for you to see Tony and I together like that. Not that there was anything to hide, but I just mean to tell you that, we don't fancy each other, alright? We're not going to end up together like that no matter how much my sister thinks that he's mad about me. He's not, and I'm not. She's the one that's mad, in the insane way, I mean. Well, not all the time. Just sometimes. This being one of the times." Jess was prepared to ramble on for quite a ways, but she was stopped by the sudden pressing of Jules' lips against her own.

Jules had listened to Jess talk for the last several minutes. Her rambling was cute, but it didn't seem to be leading any particular direction fast. Well, it seemed to be heading towards the idea that Jess fancied Jules; though, Jules wasn't completely sure. The feeling of Jess pressed down against her was enough to get her sidetracked as it was. Plus, her face was just looming there in front of her. The brunette's hands were on either side of her head, and her legs were already close to straddling her. Perfect kissing situation. Then, Jules just lifted up her head and caught the brunette's lips in her own. Her eyes drifted shut, and although Jess was caught off-guard, her eyes did the same. In fact, her lips did the same as Jules' as well, a moment later. She was suddenly leaning in closer to Jules, so that the blonde didn't have to crane her neck upwards to reach her lips. The kiss lasted for several moments before Jules pulled back a little bit, lying her head back on the ground. "It was the only way I could think of to get you to stop talking." Jess smiled, remembering that she had said similar words to Jules only moments before. Leave it to Jules to have some wit left in her after a sudden kiss.

"I was getting there," Jess murmured shyly. Then she elaborated, "I do fancy someone, Jules, just like I said in your room. It's you."

Jules grinned. She had begun to guess as much during their kiss. "Yeah? Well…You were wrong. It's not Jason that I like." Jess smiled and leaned down initiating the kiss herself this time. It took only a moment before Jess swiped her tongue across Jules' bottom lip, and Jules eagerly opened her mouth to allow Jess' tongue into her mouth, effectively deepening the kiss. It was a few minutes before the girls emerged for air. That truly was a good kissing position. Jules had been right. "I love you," Jules murmured into the other girl's ear.

"I love you too," Jess whispered back just as happily. She wasn't entirely sure why they were whispering. It may have been due to the running the girls had been in, and they were finally running out of air. Or the kissing. After another kiss, it was decided. Definitely the kissing, but neither girl was prepared to stop anytime soon. Jess stood up, and reached out for Jules' hand. They had to be getting back sometime. Their parents would be wondering. They linked their fingers together, casually walking back towards the path in the park. The moonlight bathing everything with a healthy glow.

Jules' mother had wondered about her for a while, and eventually Jules would have to admit that she was right. By then, her mother would have to accept the fact that she wasn't going to marry a proper English gentleman, complete with proper manners and a great set of teeth. Though, once her mother's back was turned, he turned into an octopus trying to put his hands all over her; the manners gone. No. She wasn't going to have that. Her mother was going to have to deal with the fact that she had a girlfriend named Jess who also had proper manners. Her mother had even complimented her on that one day when she had been at her house. At least she wouldn't have to worry about when she turned her back; Jess would still have proper manners. Though, Jules wouldn't necessarily disapprove of the octopus thing, at times, with Jess.

Jess was sure that her parents would freak out when they found out that she had a girlfriend. Also, her parents would freak out if someone ever saw the two girls kissing before she told them. Well, they'd just have to be careful about where they were when they decided to start kissing. Though if anyone ever asked…It could have been a boy that she was with and kissing. A boy named Juliet, better known as Jules. And Jules was so much better than any English guy, or Irish guy for that matter, in Jess' opinion. After all, English girls had such short hair nowadays.


End file.
